On Thursday, the Senate voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The Senate voted 52-48. Kennedy has surpassed the threshold.
Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell voted against confirming RFK Jr. He was the only Republican who did so.
Kennedy previously ran for president as a third-party candidate. He eventually dropped out of the 2024 race and endorsed Trump, much to the dismay of his family. Kennedy, whose uncle was President John F. Kennedy, is a former Democrat. Up to the morning of the vote, Democrats did everything in their power to derail Kennedy's confirmation.
Earlier this month, Kennedy cleared the first hurdle after the Senate Finance Committee panel voted to advance his nomination to spearhead the HHS.
This vote was 14-13 along party lines.
Previously, Kennedy appeared in two congressional hearings over his nomination for secretary of HHS.
At one point, as Townhall covered, Kennedy was confronted by a Republican senator about his pro-abortion stance.
Republican Sen. James Lankford (OK) stated the hearing, “We have some disagreements…on the issue of life and when life begins,” pointing out that Kennedy has been “outspoken on that.” Lankford added that the Biden administration interpreted Title X as a program to help fund abortions.
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“How are you going to handle Title X on that?” Lankford asked.
“I’m going to support President Trump’s policies on Title X. I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy. I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year. I agree with him that the states control abortion. President Trump has told me that he wants to end late-term abortions and that he wants to protect contraceptives and that he wants to end federal funding for abortions here or abroad,” Kennedy explained.
"I serve at the pleasure of the president. I'm going to implement his policies,” he asserted.
LANKFORD: "We have some disagreements...on the issue of life."
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 29, 2025
RFK Jr: "I serve at the pleasure of the president. I'm going to implement his policies." pic.twitter.com/KdiCiNhGd1
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